Trolley harp



F. THORNTON. TROLLEY HARP.

. 'v` APPLICATION FILED sEPT,9, 1920. 1942459150.. PatentedAug.' 8, w22.

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ma A? www F. THORNTON.

TROLLEY HARP.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1920.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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? FMTMW lir FREDERICK THORNTON7 OF HUNTINGTON;

y. Para?? TFM WEST VIRGINIA," ASSIGNOR TO THORNTON TROLLEY WHEEL CO., OF ASHLAND, KENTUCKY; A CORPORATION OF KENTUCKY.

TROLLEY HARP.

providea harp wherein lubricant willv beA constantly supplied to the journals of the wheel and wherein the feeding'of thev lubricant will be sure and dependable.

A still further object of the invention is` to provide 'at harp employing bearing cups forthefaxle vof the trolley wheel, wherein said cups'may, should it become necessary, be readily renewed, and whereinl said cups i will be housed bythe grease chambers provided, traversingA said chambers in communicati'on therewith.

Another object of the invention is to pro'- vide a harp Awherein the trolley wheel may be readily removed therefrom and whereiny means will be provided whereby wear in the-journals of the trolley wheel may be` readily taken up.

And the `invention has as a still further objectrtovprovide a harp which will not, when -the trolley pole moves toward a verti cal-position,interfere with the engagement of the trolley wheel with the trolley wire-and wherein the harp will be firmly and safely securedupon the trolley pole.

Other andincidental objects will appear hereinafter.-

In 'the drawings: y F igurev 1 is a side elevation of my improved harp, I

Figure 2 is a plan view of the device', Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows,

Figure L1 is an elevation looking at the inner face of one of the side members of the harp, y

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view show` ingone fof the bearing cups employed, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary yhorizontal sec- Specication of Letters Patent.l 'i PLLQHQQ Auggv 8, 1922,

Application filedy September 9, 1920. lSeriaLNo'. 409,093. f f

tiongshowing the manner in which the harp 1s secured upon the trolley pole.

In' carrying the invention into effect, T

employ mating side members 10 and 11 respectively, which, at theirlower ends, are formed -with 'companions inwardly offset sleeve sections 12 and 13 mating to receive a trolley pole as conventionally shown at llkntherebetween. Engaged through the lower end portion of the sleeve and through thetrolley poleis a rivet orother suitable fastening device 15and eno'aged through vthe `upper 4end portion of ttf-ie sleeve and lthrough the trolley pole is, as shown in detail in. Figure "of the drawings, a capV screwy 16` freely yfitted through the sleeve section 12 and; threaded into the sleeve vsection-13. This screw serves to clamp the side members together at their forward ends as well as secure the sleeve sections about the trolley: pole.'

The head `of the screw 16 is.`

slotted, and.removably iitted through the .y

sleeve section 12 to engagein one of said slots is a cotter pin 1,7 locking thel screw against counter-rotation. Thus, as will be seen,-the harp is firmly and safely secured `to the trolley pole so that the harp cannot accidentallywork loose therefrom. De-

pending from thesleeve sections 12 and 13 are matingportions ofan apertured lug 18 through which may be engaged a trolley rope, as conventionally shown at 19. Mediallyl the side members 10 vand 11 .are enlarged both laterally and vertically to provide grease-chambers '20 and from said chambers, :the rearwardlyV extending portions ofY said -members are: deflected downwardly in angular relation to the forwardly directed portionsfof the members and, at`

24 securing the screw against accidental displacement. i n

Extending' transversely of the grease chambers 20 are semi-spherical bearing cups `25 each formed with a series of apertures 26 through `the inner end portion thereof andA provided with a centering stud 27. These bearing cups are of 'hardened material and are pressed intovposition, the studs tting snugly through suitable openings in the outer side walls of the chambers while the inner side walls of said chambers are provided with openings to snugly receive the cups at their rims. The cups will thus be rigidly supported and, as will be observed, the cavities of the grease chambers 20 completely surround the cups. Formed in the outer sidewalls of said chambers are openings 28. By the use of a grease gun, lubricant Imay be readily introduced into the chambers through these openings so that the grease will stand around the cups within the chambers. Journaled by the bearing cups is a. trolley wheel 29. The wheel may be of any Vapproved material and pressed through the hub of the wheel isan axle 30. This axle, like the bearing cupsv 25, is also of hardened material and, at its end portions, isr formed with substantially semispherical trunnions 31 fitting in the bearing cups 25 and rotatably supporting the wheel. At their ends the trunnions are, as particularly7 shown in Figure 3, formed with fiat faces so that small grease cavities 32 are thus provided within the cups at the ends of the trunnions and, as will be observed, the series of openings 2G communicate with these cavities, Formed in the axle at the ends of the hub of the trolley wheel are annular grooves 33;

As will nowbe readily'understood in view of the #preceding description, after the grease chambers 20 have been filled, lubricant will be constantly supplied through the openings 26 of the bearing cups to the interior of said cups so that the trunnions 31 of the axle of the trolley wheel vwill be at all times effectually lubricated. Lubricant will, of course, ytend to collect within lthe cavities 32 and from these cavities will feed downwardly around the trunnions-31 so that the entire surfaces of said trunnions will be lgrease coated.- Wear upon the trunnions as well as upon the bearing cups will thus be f reduced to la minimum. Any vgrease workbe readily taken u p by simply filing off the meeting ends of the lugs21. and 22 and tightening the clamp screw 23. To replace the trolley wheel it is simplynecessary to separatethe side members 10 and 11 when the old wheel vmaybe removed and a'new wheel readily substituted therefor. Further, attention is directed to the fact that, in

the practical use of the device, the harp will not interfere with the engagement of the Atrolley wheel with the trolley wire. This is due to the fact that the rearwardly directed portions of the side members of the harp are deflected downwardly so that when the trolley vwheel moves upwardly toward a vertical position, the lugs 21 and 22 at the rear of y the wheel will not touch the wire.

Having thus described the is yclaimed as new is:

y1. A trolley harp including side membersv having lubricant chambers provided with.,

openings in the side walls thereof, substantially semi-spherical bearing cupsl having studs at their outer ends fitting in the openings in the outer side walls of the chambers,

invention, `what the rims of the cups fitting yin the openings having lubricant' chambers,` substantially semi-spherical bearing cups carried bythe members in communication with said chambers, and a trolley wheel having an axle vprovided with substantially `semi-spherical trunnions journaled in saidcups. v

3. A trolley harp including side members provided at their forward ends with sleeve sections abutting to provide a trolley polel sleeve, means holding the forward endportions of said members in abutting relation and engageable through a :trolley pole' fitted in said sleeve, bearings carried by thev members, and a ,trolley wheel journaled in said` bearings.

4. A trolley wheel including bers having at their forward endssleeve seetions Amating to provide a trolley pole sleeve and at their rear ends abutting spacing lugs, means clamping theforward end portions of said members together and engageable with a trolley pole lfitted in said sleeve, means extending through said lugs clamping .the rear end portions of said members together, bearings carried by the members, a trolley wheel journaled by said bearings, and means lockingsaid first and second mentioned means against displacement. l

5. In a trolley harp, the combinationof side memmating side members, bearing cups carried by the members, a trolley wheel having an y axle journaled in said cups, and' adjustable means connectingthe members whereby said members may be cut away and said means` adjusted for reducing the effective distance between the cups. and taking up wear between the axle andthe cups.

Y said members7 means securing-the members together, and means locking the rst means against displacement.

8. A trolley harp including side members, 15 a trolley wheel journaled between said members, means securing the members together and provided with slots, and means coacting between one of the members and the first means engaging in said slots locking the first 20 means against displacement.

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature.

FREDERICK THORNTON. [L 8.] 

